Technical information

The Microwave Transceiver is located in the lid of the MDR2. It provides wireless bi-

directional communication between the MDR2, Hand Unit, F/X unit and other clients in the

wireless network. The lid also contains a voltage booster enabling MDR operation over an

input voltage range from 11 to 30 volts.

The wireless channels are selected by turning the two channel switches located on the

MDR2 top cover. There are 30 channels numbered 0 – 29. Channels above 29 repeat the

sequence, so that channel 30 is the same as channel 0, and so on.

A slide switch on the cover selects between Cable and Radio operation.

The software controlling the MDR-2 is updated through the “Serial” receptacle and the

Serial-PC cable that connects the MDR to the serial “D” connector of a PC or MAC (OS 10.5

or later). A USB to Serial adapter is required, and the serial adapter software must be

installed on the PC or MAC to proceed. Software updates are available either as a CD or

download from our web site:

http://www.prestoncinema.com/downloads.html.

To initiate the update, open the MRD2 update program on your computer. The program

CD and a serial cable are included with the MDR2. Remove power from the MDR2.

Connect the serial cable between the PC and MDR2 serial receptacle. Open the MDR2

update program. While holding the reset button down, apply power to the MDR2. Release

the reset button. The program should now report that it has found a connection to the

MDR2 and asks whether you want to proceed with the update. Choose yes. After the

program has completed the update, you can remove the serial cable from the MDR2.

The serial receptacle is used for additional purposes:

 It can accept motion control commands from an external computer using

RS-232 data.

 It can accept distance data from the Panatape or Cinetape devices using the

Panatape interface cable p/n 4534 or Cinetape cable p/n 4542. It can also

take data from the Cooke i-Lens using cable p/n 4544. The distance data is

shown on the HU3 display.

 It can transmit motor position and camera data to an external device.